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WELCOME BACK, CONGRESS: We truly, truly missed you. Thankfully, due to hard work by key transportation lawmakers earlier this year on the FAA and surface transpo bills, the only pressing deadline looming is an extension of DOT funding by Sept. 30. The House has passed its appropriations bill, and the Senate has not — but neither really matters given the six-month continuing resolution negotiated by Harry Reid and John Boehner. To avoid departmental shutdowns, the CR needs to pass by the end of the month.

Hold me: The two closest pieces of transportation work came out of the Senate Commerce Committee right before the break: The nomination of Michael Huerta as FAA administrator and a bill from Sens. John Thune and Claire McCaskill to exempt the United States from the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. Both of those have holds on them, Huerta by Sen. Jim DeMint and EU ETS by ______ (readers, you tell us). More on the work that lies ahead for Congress from yours truly:http://politico.pro/O7yqZd

MICA GOING HARD: T&I Chairman John Mica was not kidding when he told MT he’s going to stay busy as the 112th Congress winds down, scheduling four transportation-related hearings for this week. You’ll need a doppelganger on Tuesday to get to one on Amtrak’s relationship with commuter railroads and another on Maritime Transportation Security: Both are at 10 a.m. Twenty-four hours later it’s going down with a review of FAA’s NextGen implementation, and 24 hours after THAT comes a review of the DOT’s bus and truck safety program. MT, of course, will have all the deets this week.

BILL WATCHING: The House is back with 11 scheduled suspension votes today and 21 more for later this week. Two we are keeping tabs on expected later this week: Bob Turner’s transit security bill (H.R. 3857; text: http://1.usa.gov/O5myXz) and Joe Walsh’s “No-Hassle Flying Act of 2012” (H.R. 6028; text: http://1.usa.gov/O5mMhj), which would keep bags that have already been screened in pre-cleared airports from having to be screened again in the U.S.

REPORT WATCHING: We’re still waiting on the details of those sequester cuts that Congress had required be disclosed by the Obama administration last week, but the press secretary says they are coming. “Given the time needed to address the complex issues involved in preparing the report, the administration will be submitting that report to Congress late next week,” Jay Carney told reporters over the weekend.

BREAKING — Amtrak to announce record ridership: The railroad is set to announce this morning that Amtrak has set the highest ridership total ever for each month of this fiscal year, which means it’s had the busiest January, February, March, etc., in its history. And at the end of the month (and fiscal year), the railroad expects a new annual ridership record will again be set, besting last year’s 30.2 million passengers. Expect more details from Amtrak later this morning.

Bridging a river: Amtrak hit another milestone over the weekend, finishing a shift of all rail traffic from the Niantic River Bridge in Connecticut from a 105-year old span to a new one. Only one track will be available for a few months, but Amtrak says the new bridge will help increase speeds and reliability between Boston and New York. Release: http://bit.ly/Q4BkSM

SNOOP JOBBY JOB: The U.S. economy added 96,000 jobs in August, with unemployment falling to 8.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The construction sector showed “little change,” the BLS said. But manufacturing jobs edged down by 15,000 in August, as a decline in motor vehicles and parts partly offset a July gain. Auto manufacturers laid off fewer workers for factory retooling than usual in July and fewer were recalled in August. The employment rate has teetered around 8 percent throughout the year. The biggest transportation jobs boost was in the transit sector, which added 5,000 jobs last month; otherwise most everything else was flat. Comb through the numbers yourself: http://1.usa.gov/90ifwC

Spinning: This marks the second month since the transportation law has gone into effect, giving states greater funding security and the potential to spur hiring of more contractors. The White House jumped on the numbers, although they fell below expectations. Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Alan Krueger even made that rare political connection between jobs and infrastructure, although the president barely touched on the link in his Thursday convention speech. “To create more jobs in particularly hard-hit sectors, President Obama continues to support the elements of the American Jobs Act that have not yet passed, including further investment in infrastructure to rebuild our Nation’s ports, roads and highways,” he said in a statement.

Flying high: The U.S. Travel Association’s David Huether sees a bright side to the report, with 7,000 new travel jobs added in August. Huether, a VP of economics and research, said total travel employment of 7.6 million is the highest since November 2008 and that “since the employment recovery began in March of 2010, the travel industry has added 291,000 jobs and accounted for 8 percent of the total jobs created to date.”

METRO GRADES ITSELF: A Metro self-analysis shows that the D.C. system met nine of 11 performance metrics last year, including a drop in injuries and a boost in safety. Serious crime plummeted 16 percent from 2010, the report said, and customer injuries fell nearly 11 percent. The system failed to meet its target for on-time Metrobus arrivals or working escalators. Metro's operating expenses came in under budget by $46 million, but its capital expenditures increased 60 percent over 2010. The report: http://bit.ly/P8OQVu

PAIR O’ PROPOSALS — Safety first: The FRA is proposing to require commuter and intercity passenger railroads to implement a "system safety program" intended to identify and fix safety problems before they occur, as mandated by Congress in 2008. The plans would have to be approved by FRA and would be subject to audits. The Federal Register entry: http://1.usa.gov/QrKxUU

Safety second: NHTSA is floating an increase in the maximum civil fine for some motor vehicle safety violations, including those related to school bus and equipment safety, bumper standards and others, to account for inflation. By law, NHTSA can propose adjusting its fines for inflation every four years. More from the feds: http://1.usa.gov/QrKJmY

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- A police motorcyclist in the presidential motorcade died following a crash Monday in Florida. CNN: http://bit.ly/P6Fb08

- Bridges on new ICC in Maryland suburbs have cracks, threatening durability. The Examiner: http://bit.ly/P6FlEG

- What exactly is futuristic about New York’s “taxi of tomorrow?” Capital New York: http://bit.ly/P8TzGO

- A shift to a Market East Station in Philly for HSR could transform the district. Atlantic Cities: http://bit.ly/RItMps

MIXED GRADE FOR OBAMA: MT readers were truly divided on the president’s transportation leadership. The breakdown: A: 19 percent of voters, B: 24 percent, C: 19 percent, D: 20 percent and F: 16 percent. An insightful reader comment on our poll: “Despite the largess of the current Republican dominated Congress, Mr. Obama has steadfastly tried to direct funds to existing infrastructure and for future projects. … It is unfortunate that those in control at the present time, in Congress, lack the foresight, less the acumen to determine the needs of its constituents, and the temerity to act before another bridge collapse.”

NEW MT POLL — Huerta or not? Will Huerta be confirmed before the end of the year? Or perhaps next year? Or maybe you think either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, if elected, have someone else in mind. Gasp! It’s possible you don’t even give a hoot, but we still want you to vote by Sunday at noon: http://poll.fm/3vq85

NOT YOUR TYPICAL NEWS DUMP: DOT and FAA delivered eight separate press releases Friday afternoon announcing Airport Improvement Program grants totalling $75.1 million. They are: $4.8 million for Dayton International Airport, $10 million for Fort Worth Alliance Airport, $3.2 million for Indianapolis International Airport, $9.6 million for Orlando International Airport, $6.9 million safety grant for Portland-Hillsboro Airport, $7.1 million for Venice Municipal Airport, $15.5 million safety grant for Kotzebue, Alaska Airport and $18 million for Van Nuys Airport, a busy general aviation airport that will get an entirely rehabbed runway from the grant.

THE COUNTDOWN: DOT funding runs out in 20 days, passenger rail policy in 386 days, surface transportation policy in 751 days and FAA policy in 1,116 days. There are 57 days before the general election, and the 113th Congress convenes in 118 days.

‘GAME, SET, MATCH:’ That's how Ed Wytkind, head of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, put the DNC address from President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Wytkind told Kathryn he heard Obama pledge to "finally expand and modernize our transportation system. The President also told workers that he believes in and will fight for them. The choice in this election is clear: a choice between a President with a dogged determination to rebuild the middle class and invest in America again and a challenger who just doesn’t understand the needs of working people and has pledged to decimate investments in the very industries that employ our members and drive our economy.”

CABOOSE — Aerial interchanges: We all know what highway connections look like from the ground — but from the sky is a different matter. The Atlantic Cities highlights Toronto photographer Peter Andrew, who captures the view from small plane (http://bit.ly/P9TcbE). While we’re at it, here’s a funny refresher from the XKCD web-comic of “highway engineer pranks” (http://xkcd.com/253/)

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